Review Flexible Body Results

Review and animate flexible body results including local deformations, stress, and strain apart from the rigid body results.

To view flexible body results, you must create a flexible body and run a motion analysis.

Select the Flexible Body tool on the Motion ribbon.

Tip: To find and open a tool, press Ctrl+F. For more information, see Find and Search for Tools.
Select a Result Type in the Analysis Explorer.

Note: Displacement results are always included by default. Stress and Strain results will only be available if they were selected as options when creating the flexible body.

Animation Toolbar

Use the animation toolbar to play, record, and configure the animation.

Animation Settings: Click to open the Animation Settings.
Play and Record/Stop Recording: Click the button to begin recording the results; the icon changes to red to indicate that it is recording. Click the icon again to stop recording.
Start Animation/Pause Animation: Click the button to start or pause the animation. Use the arrow buttons to jump the first or last frame in the animation.
Move to First/Previous/Next/Last Step: These buttons allow you to step through the animation frame-by-frame. If you hold down the Previous or Next button, it will auto-repeat. If you want to skip frames, use the Increment By feature in the Animation Settings; hold Ctrl to temporarily override this behavior.
Slider: Drag the slider on the toolbar to view a particular point during the analysis; use the arrow keys to move frame-by-frame through the animation.
Current Step: Displays the current time or frame. You can also enter a value to go to the nearest time/frame.
Make Current Frame the New Design Position: Click to use the current position of the mechanism as the model's starting point for the next run. This option is only avaiable for motion analysis.
Plot Manager: Open the Plot Manager to browse and plot motion results data, create cross plots (data vs. data), define pages in different layouts, and save the plots you've defined as a template for reuse. This option is only avaiable for motion analysis.
Display Linear Modes Table: Open the Linear Modes table to view the results of a linear analysis in complex number form with natural frequencies and damping ratio. This option is only avaiable for linear motion analysis.

Note: The animation toolbar has Previous and Next buttons with an auto-repeat feature, allowing you to step through the animation frame-by-frame by holding down the button. In addition, the Animation Settings include an option to Reverse Playback.

Show Options

Determine what is made visible in the modeling window when viewing analysis results. You can show or hide the initial shape, loads and supports, deformation, and/or contours.


Option	Description	Note
Show/Hide Initial Shape	Show/hide the initial shape as a reference.
Show/Hide All Loads and Supports	Show/hide loads and supports. You can also show only the current loads and supports.
Show/Hide Deformed State	Show/hide the deformed shape as a reference.
Show/Hide Contours	Show/hide contours.
Options	Interpolate during animation: Animate the result contour. Blended contours: Toggle between blended and nonblended contours. Element contour: Show contours based on elements rather than nodes. This option is only available for results types that are based on elements. Vector plot: Display the direction vectors for the displacement result type.
Show/Hide Elements	Show/hide the element edges.	This icon appears under the view controls in the lower left of the modeling window, but only when the Analysis Explorer is active.

Callout Options

Add visual callouts to show points of interest on your analysis results.


Option	Description	Note
Create, Show, and Hide Callouts	Select to create callouts; select to show and hide callouts.	Click the icon, then click a point on the model to create a callout. After creating callouts, click the icon to show/hide the callouts in the modeling window.
List Callouts	Display in a table all of the callouts that have been created, with the result types and values. Each callout is specific to the selected run and load case.	Click the icon to show/hide the callout in the modeling window. Select a row to select the callout in the modeling window. Click a column header to sort the column. Click to toggle between ascending and descending order. Click and drag column headers to reposition them in the callout list. Right-click a column header to change the result types that are shown.
Min/Max Callouts	Create a callout showing where the minimum/maximum value occurs for the selected result type. Note: When factor of safety is selected, the minimum value is shown.	When you click the icon, the callout is automatically generated on the model. Click the min/max callout in the modeling window to create a regular callout at the same location.
Plot	Display time history plots for callouts defined for structural analysis. Changes made to the Result Types option are synchronized with the setting on the Analysis Explorer. Using this option allows you to put multiple plots of mixed types on a single page. Note: To show a callout plot during a motion analysis playback, right-click the plot, then select Show during analysis.	This option is only available for motion part analysis results.
Dynamic Callouts	Display the results of various result types in existing callouts. Note: If you enable the Compare Results feature in a callout, the callout becomes static.	After creating a callout for a particular result type, click the icon, then select a different result type. The value in the callout reflects the new result type.

Compare Results

Compare the results of multiple analysis runs in a table. The Compare Results button is located at the bottom of the Analysis Explorer.

For analysis, you can compare results across all runs and load cases for the selected result type. You can also compare result types at a point of interest where you have placed a callout.

View the analysis results in the Analysis Explorer.

Select the Show Analysis Results tool on the Analyze icon, if not already active.On the Motion ribbon, select the Review Flexible Body Results tool.

Tip: To find and open a tool, press Ctrl+F. For more information, see Find and Search for Tools.
Click the Compare Results button located at the bottom of the Analysis Explorer.

The table for comparing results appears at the bottom of the modeling window.
Select the row to display the results for that run and load case.
- Double-click a cell in the table to show that result in the modeling window.
- Click the chevron next to the table title to select a different result type or a callout.
- Click the chevron on a column header to filter results.
- Click a column header to sort the column.
- Right-click a column header to change what result types, run parameters, or callouts are shown in the table.
- Click the top left corner of the table to copy the contents of all cells. This can then be pasted into Excel.

Additional columns can be added to show additional result types and parameters from the Run Analysis window. The red-blue color bands correspond to the legend in the Analysis Explorer; the width of the band indicates the magnitude of the result. Changes to the upper and lower bound in the Analysis Explorer are automatically reflected in the Compare Analysis Results table.